Metals and Minerals

News about Metals and Minerals, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 27, 2014

World Trade Organization panel says China broke international trade law by restricting the export of rare earth elements and other metals crucial to modern manufacturing; conclusion opens possibility that country could face trade sanctions. MORE

Feb. 14, 2014

Apple releases its supplier responsibility report, noting that its hardware factories do not use any tantalum, metal commonly used in electronics, from areas engaged in warfare; also reports effort to end excessively long workweeks for supplier employees. MORE

Jan. 13, 2014

Indonesia, one of world's biggest producers of minerals, implements law banning export of unprocessed ore; ban has been criticized by miners who say a plan to build smelters in the country is not economically viable. MORE

Jan. 12, 2014

Indonesian Pres Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono approves last-minute regulation that will most likely ease impact of country's ban on mineral ore exports for major mining companies; ban sought to bolster country's return from its mineral wealth by forcing miners to process ores domestically. MORE

Dec. 3, 2013

Chemical reactions that help produce products from margarine to medications rely on valuable metals like platinum and rhodium as catalysts; three studies published in journal Science report development of catalysts based on cheap metals that can match or outperform those based on precious metals. MORE

Nov. 8, 2013

London Metal Exchange releases new regulations meant to reduce the waiting times at storage facilities owned by commodities traders and banks like Goldman Sachs. MORE

Sep. 30, 2013

The trading house Noble Group and the American private equity firm TPG Capital will each invest $500 million in a private mining venture led by Mick Davis, the former Xstrata chief executive who lost out in the Glencore takeover. MORE

Aug. 20, 2013

Drop in demand for Peru's mining riches has slowed growth in the country after its economy grew an average of 6.4 percent a year from 2002-12 after adjusting for inflation; slowdown, attributed to struggling world economy, has given vent to a national angst, with hand-wringing over the economy a mainstay of newspaper front pages and television programs. MORE

May. 2, 2013

Jack Sanders, founder of Texas design company Design Build Adventure, runs Heavy Metal camp, three-day design-build workshop in Austin where five strangers learn to weld against backdrop of country music and local food. MORE

Feb. 21, 2013

Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase is annual trade fair in which over 50,000 mineral hunters descend to buy or sell gems both familiar and fascinating. MORE

Oct. 16, 2012

Dr Paul Chirik, professor of chemistry at Princeton University, has learned how to make iron function like platinum in chemical reactions that are crucial to various manufacturing processes; technique could herald a new era of flexible manufacturing technologies, while enabling companies to avoid using scarce or environmentally hazardous elements. MORE

Sep. 9, 2012

Afghan officials and mining industry experts say the potential mineral resource boom in the country seems increasingly imperiled by corruption, violence and intrigue, and has put the government's vulnerabilities on display; discovery of Afghanistan's trillion-dollar reservoir of natural resources once brought hope of a path toward becoming a more self-sufficient country. MORE

Aug. 14, 2012

Violent protests at a platinum mine in South Africa leave at least nine people dead in the past two days, and a large crowd overpowers police officers and steals their weapons; the protests and clashes between rival unions took place at a mine run by Lonmin, a leading platinum producer, near Marikana, about 40 miles northwest of Johannesburg. MORE

Jul. 10, 2012

New understanding of marine geology has led to the discovery of hundreds of deposits rich in gold, silver, zinc and other natural treasures in deep volcanic zones across the ocean's floor; recent finds, along with technological improvements, are fueling a rush as nations, companies and entrepreneurs race to stake claims to mineral deposits valued at trillions of dollars. MORE

May. 20, 2012

Fight is brewing in Zimbabwe over who will profit from the nation’s vast bounty of platinum, chromium, nickel and diamonds; Pres Robert G Mugabe has begun pressuring companies operating in the country to comply with a law requiring that black Zimbabweans own more than half their shares. MORE

May. 4, 2012

Consolidated Edison officials say that theft of manhole covers in New York City is on the rise; more than 30 of the heavy covers have gone missing from the streets of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx since March; covers are assumed to have value as scrap metal. MORE

Apr. 24, 2012

Planetary Resources Inc unveils plans to mine near-Earth asteroids for precious metals and water; also plans to become a supply hub for satellites, space stations and future planetary travelers; company's big-name investors include Google founders Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, as well as filmmaker James Cameron. MORE

Mar. 20, 2012

Certain minerals, mined in strife-torn Africa and used in products like cellphones, are part of a debate before the Securities and Exchange Commission; proposed Dodd-Frank regulation is aimed at cutting off the brutal militia groups, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, that have often taken over the mining and sale of so-called conflict minerals to finance their military aims. MORE

Jan. 31, 2012

World Trade Organization's appeals panel rules that China must dismantle its system of export taxes and quotas for nine widely used industrial minerals; says China distorts international trade through dozens of export policies on raw materials; ruling is victory for United States. MORE

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Mexican federal officials say Grupo Mexico, a mining conglomerate, will pay for damage caused when one of its mines spilled acid-laced copper sulfate and heavy metals into two rivers in northern Mexico.